MotoGP - Catalunya Grand Prix - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain - May 26, 2024 Prima Pramac Racing's Jorge Martin celebrates after finishing second place in the Catalunya Grand Prix REUTERS/Bruna Casas
(Reuters) -MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin won the German Grand Prix sprint at the Sachsenring for the second year in a row on Saturday to marginally extend his lead over title rival Francesco Bagnaia, who finished third behind Miguel Oliveira.
Martin's sprint victory moved him up to 212 points while Ducati's Bagnaia is now 15 points behind.
"I was confident today. The win was really difficult because they were so close," Martin said after beating Oliveira by less than a second.
Martin had smashed the lap record to clinch pole in qualifying but he had a slow start on the outside while Bagnaia moved up from fourth and lunged past on the inside on turn one to take the lead with Oliveira in second.
Martin used the Pramac Ducati machine's power to move past Oliveira and set his sights on title rival Bagnaia, eventually moving past him while Oliveira also overtook the red factory Ducati on lap three to reclaim second place.
The trio retained their positions until three laps to go when Bagnaia's team mate Enea Bastianini began breathing down the neck of his compatriot but the reigning champion held on to finish on the podium.
"I was struggling with the front a bit, I was losing it a lot," a relieved Bagnaia said.
Gresini Racing's Marc Marquez, who is third in the championship, did not qualify for Q2 and started 13th on the grid, opting to race despite suffering a broken finger and a bruised ribcage in a brutal highside crash on Friday.
The determined Spaniard methodically carved his way through the pack at one of his favourite tracks -- where he has won 11 times across all classes -- to finish sixth with a daring last-lap overtake of Aprilia's Maverick Vinales.
Vinales had also suffered a huge crash in qualifying and the two Spaniards battled for sixth until the very end, with Marquez crossing the line first in a photo finish by 0.003 seconds.
For the American Trackhouse Racing team, however, it was a first sprint podium for the struggling satellite outfit and Oliveira was all smiles after the race.
"I've been feeling good all weekend. After qualifying I knew there was a good possibility to finish on the podium," the Portuguese rider said.
"These guys are super fast, it's not easy coming up from the midfield to fight with them, but I didn't put a foot wrong."
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Clare Fallon and Alison Williams)
